‘The Mob’ teen jailed in death of bail bondsman serving warrant at funeral home
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police have identified the man they say fatally shot 55-year-old bail bondsman Byron Frierson Sr., who was attempting to serve him with a warrant outside a funeral home.
The shooting happened just after 12:30 p.m. Friday behind the Stuart Mortuary, 2201 N. Illinois St., during an ongoing funeral.
Robert Dew, 19, was in the Marion County Jail Friday night facing preliminary charges of murder, dealing in cocaine and narcotics and possession of a narcotic drug, online records showed.
Victoria Hastings works at Turner Bail Bonds as a bail agent and bounty hunter. She said her company covered the bond for Dew, who missed court appearances for having a handgun without a license and a slew of drug charges.
“He was a serious violent felon that Byron and the boys went out to find,” she said.
Frierson helped as a bounty hunter for Turner Bail Bonds. Hastings also said she looked up records that indicated Dew took out a bond with Frierson’s company, and that Dew skipped those court appearances, too, in connection with more gun and drug charges.
“[Frierson] got wind [Dew] was at a funeral home so they went to the funeral home. I don’t know how it all happened and all came down,” she said.
But Hastings cannot believe Frierson is gone.
“He loved children. He tried to help them all but sometimes you can’t help them all,” she said.
She said his death highlights a reality bail bondsmen and bounty hunters face every single day.
“We see it it’s in the news every day. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sheriff, a police man or a bounty hunter, they don’t want to go back to jail,” she said, referring to their clients, who are out on bond.
And another bail bonds company said it’s only getting more dangerous, with more of their clients charged with serious felonies.
Last May, Dew was arrested as part of “The Mob” street gang, accused of robbing 24 pharmacies.
Federal prosecutors in May 2017 said the street gang is believed to have committed 24 robberies of CVS and Walgreens pharmacies from Dec. 6, 2014, to June 6, 2016, in Indianapolis, Lawrence, Anderson and Louisville, Kentucky. In addition, The Mob would obtain drugs from other drug dealers, a federal indictment said. Afterward, the members would resell the pills on the streets.
Controlled drugs obtained by The Mob, according to the indictment, included Addrerall, Concerta, Endocet, Lortab, morphine, morphine sulfate pills, OxyContin, Percocet, Pomethazine antihistamine with codeine, Ritalin, Roxicodone, Tussionex, Vicodin, Vyvanse and Xanax.
U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said in 2017 that the gang also terrorized the neighborhood where they were located, 40th Street and Boulevard Place on the city’s north side just northeast of Crown Hill Cemetery. The gang tried to evoke a “code of silence,” and recruited juveniles as young as 12 – they were called “peons” – to sell the pills on the streets.
Online court records reflected two outstanding warrants for Dew: June 1 felony charges for possession of narcotics and marijuana, dealing of narcotics, cocaine and marijuana and November 2016 charges of dealing and possessing narcotics as well as carrying a handgun without a license.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Chris Wilburn said officers found Dew and brought him downtown for questioning.
Wilburn said police were still investigating whether the suspect or victim had any connection to the funeral.
The funeral did not stop for the investigation. Police wrapped tape around the building and kept letting people in and out.
“This is tragic in and of itself,” Wilburn said. “Here we are on St. Patrick’s Day at a funeral home and somebody is murdered.”
Stuart Mortuary released the following statement on Friday night:
To Our Family and Friends in the Community:
On behalf of The entire staff of Stuart Mortuary, I extend heartfelt sympathy to the family of the gentleman who lost his life today, while we remain prayerful with the family we were serving at our facility.
We thank the joined officers of IMPD for their service, and we commend them for their professionalism in restoring peace in the midst of this tragedy which occurred while apprehending the suspect.
We pray that Peace is somehow restored.
Mara A. Stuart,
President
An initial hearing for Dew was not listed on Friday night.
